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Securis Finance, a subsidiary of FirstPay Technologies, has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC). The company plans to disburse Rs 100 crore in education loans in its first year, initially targeting key educational hubs such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Pune on a pilot basis. Securis Finance is a fully owned subsidiary of FirstPay Technologies, which operates Junio, a digital pocket money smart card for teenagers. Securis Finance aims to offer loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, addressing a major gap in access to credit for teenagers. Its lending solutions will cover diverse educational needs, including school fees, college tuition, coding boot camps, and entrance exam coaching.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Anurupa Roy, a puppeteer and theatre practitioner, is an integral part of the performing arts ecosystem in India. She set up Katkatha, an organisation for the promotion and preservation of the puppet arts in India, 26 years ago.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has turned its focus on funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) amid an ongoing investigation tied to investor and philantropist George Soros, TOI has reported. This scrutiny comes as the Trump administration has time and again criticized USAID for allegedly promoting a «left, liberal and woke» agenda abroad. The ED is currently investigating three Bengaluru-based companies for purported violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, specifically regarding the receipt of Rs 25 crore from the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF). Among these companies, ASAR Social Impact Advisors has also been noted for receiving Rs 8 crore from USAID as foreign inward remittance during FY23. The central agency is particularly interested in understanding the motives and purposes behind the payments made by USAID. Notably, the Open Society Foundations was categorized under the 'prior reference category' by the home ministry in 2016 due to concerns over «undesirable activities.» This classification mandates that it must obtain prior approval from the ministry before contributing funds to any Indian non-profit organization.

The notices, which target individuals with little to no financial capacity, expose a troubling pattern of fraud involving stolen Aadhaar and PAN card details. Among the most cases reported so far is that of Karan Kumar, a 34-year-old sanitation worker who earns a modest Rs 15,000 per month at the State Bank of India’s Khair branch. On March 29, Karan received an Income Tax notice demanding an outrageous sum of Rs 33.88 crore. This demand, based on transactions carried out using his identity, came as a complete shock. According to Karan, Mahaveer Enterprises, a company dealing in petroleum and steel goods, had been using a forged PAN and Aadhaar card linked to his name for large-scale transactions in Delhi.

Poonam Gupta of NCAER was appointed as Reserve Bank of India's Deputy Governor, in place of Michael Patra. Poonam Gupta is a Lead Economist for India at the World Bank.

Maruti Suzuki, believes electric vehicles (EVs) will take time to gain mass adoption, as customers still see them as secondary cars and remain concerned about public charging infrastructure, battery range, and post-sales support. However, Hyundai, the country’s second-largest carmaker, takes a different view, expecting EV sales to nearly double to 5% of total car sales by FY27 from an estimated 2.7% in 2024-25. This comes at a time when the central government is actively discussing plans to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR in a bid to tackle air pollution. However, the comments were not based on reports that government is discussing phasing out fuel vehicles. Maruti has been among the slowest large carmakers to launch EVs, and its doubts about their mainstream acceptance persist. “EVs sold today are not primary cars, but rather secondary. Till the time we don't solve customer concerns on range, charging infrastructure and post-sales, buyers will not have confidence. EVs will remain a secondary car, where numbers will not grow fast,” TOI quoted Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing & sales) at Maruti Suzuki, as saying.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday strongly defended the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha, and said that the legislation was necessary to ensure the proper use of Waqf properties for the benefit of the poor and disadvantaged sections of the Muslim community. Rijiju, who tabled the Bill in the Lower House, took aim at the opposition, accusing them of misleading Muslims for the last 70 years for «vote bank politics.» «How long do you want to mislead them?» Rijiju asked MPs of the Opposition bloc, particularly those affiliated with the Congress. “The Muslims are strongly supporting this Bill. They have been asking to pass it quickly,” he said.

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property investments. One such individual, who runs a business that can be managed remotely, recently shared a unique strategy—buying property in Dubai and using its rental income to fund a rental home in India. The dilemma arises from the high cost of property in South Delhi, where homes in prime locations cost ₹5-7 crore. Although financially capable of buying a home outright, the buyer feels that the value for money in Delhi’s property market is unappealing. Instead, a relative suggested purchasing real estate in Dubai, which offers better returns and additional benefits like a Golden Visa for investments exceeding AED 2 million (approximately ₹4.6 crore). A ₹5 crore property in Dubai can yield rental returns between 5-8%, generating ₹25-40 lakh annually. After taxes, this translates to ₹1.7-2.56 lakh per month. In contrast, renting a similar property in South Delhi costs only around ₹1-1.2 lakh per month, based on a rental yield of 1.5-2.5%. This means the investor could cover rent in Delhi while still pocketing ₹1-1.5 lakh monthly from the Dubai investment.

app-based bike driver in Gurgaon. She recounted the incident on Reddit, describing how the driver deviated from the intended route and stopped in a secluded area, leaving her in a state of panic. The incident occurred when her friend booked a ride for her at 10:07 PM, from one location to Sikanderpur metro station in Gurgaon. Since it was late, her friend booked the ride from his phone to ensure her safety and track her journey. However, instead of heading directly to the metro station, the driver unexpectedly took a different turn. She noticed that the metro station was right in front, yet the driver insisted that he was following the map. Soon, she found herself on an unfamiliar and isolated road, which raised her suspicion. As the driver slowed down and started looking around, she felt increasingly uneasy. Before she could react, he stopped the bike near parked trucks in a sketchy location. At the same moment, a cab pulled up right beside them, intensifying her fear. She froze, convinced that she was about to be kidnapped. Fortunately, the cab drove away, and the bike driver resumed the ride, but instead of heading back on track, he attempted to take another turn.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has hiked the toll charges by an average of 4-5% on tolled highway stretches across the country. The revised toll charges will be effective from April 1, 2025. Toll revision is an annual exercise and is linked to the changes in the wholesale price index based inflation. Every year, it is implemented from April 1. There are around 855 user fee plazas on national highway network on which user fee is levied as per National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. Out of these, around 675 are public-funded fee plazas and 180 are concessionaire-operated toll plazas. The revised rates will affect the commuters of key routes across the country including Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, Delhi-Jaipur highway among others. With average monthly collection of around Rs 6000 crore and 350 million monthly toll users, the NHAI is expected to garner nearly Rs 70,000 crore in toll collection in FY ’2024-25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Earlier this month, M.F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) created a record at Christie’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale in New York.

Manglam Group will invest INR 1,000 crore over the next five years to expand its hospitality business in Rajasthan to cater to rising demand for premium hotels. Jaipur-based Manglam Group has already developed 'Westin Jaipur Resort', a 150-room luxury property on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. The property will soon open to the public. To expand its hospitality business, the company plans to invest INR 1,000 crore over the next five years. In a statement on Monday, Manglam Group said it has started work on its second hospitality project in Jaipur comprising about 200 rooms. This new hotel will be a part of a mixed-use development in Jagatpura and will be managed by a global brand.

LPG prices are revised regularly, influenced by fluctuations in global crude oil rates and other economic factors. While commercial LPG rates have seen frequent adjustments, domestic LPG prices—used for household cooking—remain unchanged in this revision, providing stability for residential consumers.

Congress on Sunday demanded that the government bring a legislation to implement the UPA-enacted Article 15(5) for providing reservation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes in the private, unaided, but non-minority educational institutions. It pointed out that a 2014 apex court order had upheld Article 15(5), that the 2024 Lok Sabha election manifesto of Congress had promised to do the same and that a standing panel report too had favoured the course. The move to press for implementing the measure on reservation, especially for OBCs, is being seen by some in the political circles in the context of the Opposition party looking for ways to deal with the NDA government readying the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) on Monday blamed his estranged uncle and political rival Pashupati Kumar Paras for alleged mistreatment meted out to his late father's first wife. According to LJP(RV) state president Raju Tiwari, the wives of Paras and his deceased younger brother Ram Chandra Paswan recently tried to evict Rajkumari Devi from their ancestral house in Khagaria district of Bihar. The Union minister's late father Ram Vilas Paswan had tied the knot with Rajkumari Devi more than 20 years before marrying his mother Reena, who was based in Delhi. According to Tiwari, «As soon as our national president learnt of the episode, he asked his nephew Prince Paswan to visit their ancestral village Sahar Banni and take stock of the situation.» «We have been told that the room allotted to Rajkumari Devi has been locked and she is being asked to leave. Paras, who claims to worship late Paswan, is behind the humiliation of bhabhi (sister-in-law), who is old and does not enjoy good health. But, we stand in her support,» said Tiwari. No complaint has, so far, been lodged with the police in this regard and Paras, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, could not be reached for comments.

electric buses under the PM E-Drive scheme to cover more cities without increasing the budget allocation. The Centre currently offers a subsidy of ₹20-35 lakh per e-bus, depending on the carrying capacity and specification of the vehicle. According to officials aware of the development, Surat, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have together raised a demand for more than 15,000 units. This is well above the scheme target to subsidise 14,028 e-buses with a funding support of ₹4,391 crore. «The newly formed Delhi government is expected to raise a significant demand for e-buses. Orders from Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata are awaited as well,» a senior official told ET, while adding that the government may lower the per e-bus subsidy for catering to more cities.

Monalisa, was taken into custody in Ghaziabad on March 30, 2024. He was later brought to Nabi Karim Police Station in Delhi for further legal proceedings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai/New Delhi: Delhi-based 37-year-old insurance sector executive Prateek Verma says the biggest change his wife has noticed in him over the past few months is that he has become “weirdly philosophical". Can this be attributed to the joys of matrimony? “No, it is the stock market," he quipped.

India’s economy, MSMEs remain critically underinsured. With less than 15% having adequate insurance coverage, millions of businesses are left vulnerable to financial shocks. Why, then, do so many small enterprises overlook such a crucial safety net? Business insurance penetration among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India remains alarmingly low. Given that there are 63 million MSMEs, which currently contribute approximately 30% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP), only a small fraction have insurance. Insurance coverage is crucial for MSMEs, given their limited capacity to withstand risks such as payment defaults. In the post-pandemic world, challenges such as supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions, inflation, and economic slowdowns have further heightened the risks associated with exports, making risk mitigation through insurance more vital than ever. This raises an important question: Are MSMEs reluctant to embrace insurance, or is the system failing to make insurance accessible and compelling? According to Girija Subramanian, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., the issue is deeply rooted in perception and awareness. Speaking on the sidelines of the Economic Times (ET) MSME Awards 2024 in Delhi, Subramanian addressed this challenge in a fireside chat moderated by Neha Dewan, Assistant News Editor, The Economic Times.